IoT・AI and Networking 7/7

By Motoyuki Matsunaga, Senior Fellow

Reforming Society
In this last article of the series the explanation will be given on how social infrastructure is changing by the information evolution combining IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) and further on polymorphic digital ecosystem which has potential to change the society and its value.

Do younger generation of 20’s imagine the world without e-mail or web?
During the latest quarter century Google and Amazon are born, SNS Social Network System emerges, private home lodging and Uber car hiring services are spreading all over the world. Information, technologies, services and products are all connected with digital network and they are always regenerating themselves and creating something new as if they are acting in the system similar to human ecosystem. This kind of industrial structure is called as “Digital Ecosystem” and the manner and the way how enterprises are changing their roles and structure in the system is expressed as “Transformation”.

In the more advanced digital industrial platform with IoT and AI combined clients who are supposed to receive service are closely associated with the role of creating new value. As a results enterprises are obliged to cope with a variety of requirements and needs from clients. And in order to fulfill their obligation they are urged to create their own polymorphic digital ecosystem to flexibly alter their activities and networking with outside world.

Creation jointly with client

In the marketing theory the service dominant logic was proposed in the USA where many advanced group of enterprises are operating and the logic has been spreading to other world with argument that the value should not be the additional and supplemental value simply offered by suppliers of the goods, but the value should be created by intangible service developed jointly with clients. The argument has been expanded further that based on such intangible service the market principle and the manner to create the value should be restructured.
The paradigm shift is now observed in the marketing concept for creating of value for clients.

Marketing in the future
In Japan as well, the polymorphic marketing has been in discussion and in the Journal of the Society “Marketing Journal” UEHARA Wataru, Associate Professor of Hitotsubashi University, Graduate School picked up this polymorphic marketing and commented how the marketing theory should be in the future restructured coping with the possible change of influence on consumers behavior accelerated by drastic evolution of information environments.  The leading-edge value will be only created in the innovation and ever-transforming flexible organizational structures through repeated self-regenerations and creation and such value is created only in the polymorphic ecosystem where the value is connected directly with users’ information terminal.

In order to create the industry of 21st Century style it is essential that new marketing theory should be produced to create new values and new innovation cluster should be established to create tangible and intangible values in the advanced polymorphic ecosystem with IoT and AI combined.

Consequently it should be remarked that the preparation of future scenario showing how “the stage to create new value” should be organized is one of the key issues to lead us to the next generation society.